Coca-Cola’s North American soda-fountain business is getting a new boss in the wake of a scandal involving a rigged promotion with Burger King.
Chief Marketing Officer Chris Lowe is taking over the unit, replacing Tom Moore as president. Moore will shift into a “transitional role” that includes training Lowe in his new position, according to a Coca-Cola spokesperson.
Earlier this year, former Coca-Cola employee Matthew Whitley accused Moore of knowing about the promotion tampering. Whitley said that in 2000, Coca-Cola employees hired a man to take children to Burger King restaurants (without BK’s knowledge) to order value meals featuring Frozen Coke after a three-week trial of the frozen drinks fared poorly (Xtra, May 22).
In June, Coca-Cola admitted to the tampering charges. In response, Burger King announced that it was dropping all frozen carbonated beverages, including Frozen Coke, but earlier this month the two partners patched things up when Coca-Cola offered to pay Burger King up to $21 million to help ease the dispute (Xtra, Aug. 14).
The District Attorney’s Office for the North District of Atlanta is conducting a grand jury investigation into the allegations, including issuing a subpoena to Burger King in early August (Xtra, Aug. 7). The Securities and Exchange Commission is also making an informal inquiry.
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